


Point of Distrusting

by PsychicAbsol



Series: Points! [4]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Alcohol, Bachelorette Party, Drugs, F/F, Flirting, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Mild Language, Stripping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-23
Updated: 2015-08-23
Packaged: 2018-04-16 19:23:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4637337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsychicAbsol/pseuds/PsychicAbsol
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Everyone who has ever seen the slightest bit of mainstream media knows that a bachelorette party has to get out of control, it’s obligatory. And when the host is a famous ex-drug addicted rocker, it would be close to embarrassing if nothing happened that would make parents shield the eyes of their kids. But what the media does not tell you is that the consequences of one drunken act of misbehavior can be graver than expected…”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Point of Distrusting

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Part of the "Point" series, referenced in and heavily referring to “The Point of It All”, also loosely referring to “PKmn2k10”.

The fact that Roxie had decided to host a bachelorette party hadn’t been surprising in the last. More surprising had been the fact that it hadn’t been _her_ idea in the first place, but rather Cynthia’s, who seemed inappropriately enthusiastic about both the engagement and the upcoming wedding.

‘You just have to! It’s not a real wedding without a hen party to go all out and crazy about!” She had exclaimed over the phone, putting as much convicibility into her voice as Cynthia could. And that was a lot. Combined with Roxie’s overall affinity for parties, the decision had been made on the spot. A bachelorette party it was, with as many acquaintances as Roxie had, or at least those of them who could actually attain the party. Given that Sabrina’s circle of friends was much smaller in diameter than Roxie’s, it was in the end mostly friends and colleagues of the former rocker that were invited to the inner city bar. 

That alone held the potential for a lot of conflicts. 

Letting Roxie occupy herself with the majority of the guests, Sabrina waited in a small nook near the entrance, hidden from plain view by a vent pipe. She was waiting for a single guest who was a long time coming, but that was something she could not complain about. 

All in all, Billy had not seen the assault coming, and was, frankly, taken aback when someone grabbed her shoulder hard and turned her around harshly, nearly making her trip over her own boots. 

“Bitch, what was that for, can’t you…” Billy stopped. While she had not met Roxie’s girlfriend- no, _fiancée_ now, she reminded herself, personally, she had heard enough stories about her from Danny and from the general public that she knew to be cautious. She didn’t want to end up like her ex-boyfriend, who, thanks to the revengeful psychic, couldn’t even cross a flower meadow anymore without pissing his pants in fear. 

“I know who you are. I may not understand Roxie’s reason for inviting you, but I want to get across this one thing.” 

The psychic, who looked so feeble physically as to be unable to hurt a fly, had a remarkably strong grip on her forearm. Billy would even go so far as to assume that she was going to be left with a bruise. 

“My fiancée is looking forward to this party, and so am I. If you do anything, a single thing, that could lead to it being messed up, I will make sure that the rest of your life is so miserable you’ll regret waking up this morning and dragging your feet across town. Understood?” 

Billy pouted, dark eyes fixated on glowing red ones. “Sure, got it. No drama.” She fell silent and watched as the psychic turned around to join the rest of the guests inside, before shifting balance onto her other leg, making a bottle left in her trouser pocket clink. She glanced downwards, before pulling the cork and swiftly letting two small capsules disappear into her mouth. “No drama, baby.” 

Scene Change

It wasn’t a rule per se, but bachelorette parties in general were only attained by women. Women, and, apparently, those who passed well enough as representatives of the female species. Which obviously included voluntary and involuntary crossdressers. 

Ash hadn’t been the first person to storm the bar- that honor went, dishonorably, to the champion of Sinnoh, but he was the first person to be swarmed by Roxie, mainly because the host couldn’t keep to herself how daringly good Ash looked in his striped cocktail dress that was barely long enough to cover his rear side, and was in front ruffled just enough to keep one imagining what might be beneath. 

“You look awful, honey!” She exclaimed, trying hard to keep herself from snorting right into her glass. She congratulated herself on a job well done, weeks ago, in the Drink-Drank, especially as she saw how well the dress clashed with his chess-patterned, red-soled stilettos. Damn, he was working these bitches out better than some of the actual ladies in the room did, and given his experience, she would be damned if by the end of the night, he wouldn’t be the only one to be standing upright anymore. 

Despite being as wasted as a garbage can, as this was how she intended everyone to be in a few hours. It wasn’t a real bachelorette party either if not at least half of the guests ended up lying passed out beneath the bar stools. 

Ash grunted something that might or might not have been a confirmation of her observation, though not with the same intent. 

Roxie slapped his biceps hard, the most protruding and eye-catching part of his body for sure. All the hard times of physical training he had behind him weren’t well hidden beneath spaghetti straps. 

“Ah, come on, chill out a bit, Ash. This is our night to freak out a bit, before all the hardships of marriage come crashing down on our heads.” 

Ash, as if reminded of something foul, flinched away from Roxie. Before he had time to flee, though, she grabbed one of the champagne bottles, shook the Methuselah until she was sure the bottle was vibrating beneath her skin, and uncorked it with a flip of her trained fingers. Ash barely had time to register what was hitting him, much less did he have enough time to close his mouth. He might have been trying to say something, or even more likely, trying to curse Roxie with all the swear words he had acquired over the past years, but what instead came out of his mouth was a delightful mix of spit and carbonate acid, in an effort not to inhale as much wine as oxygen. 

Roxie frisked away, proud of herself again. She didn’t particularly watch where she was going, therefore, ending up bumping into the one person that she had not consciously wanted to avoid the night. 

She had invited Billy, much to Sabrina’s chagrin, because in the end, it seemed to be the right thing. She could hardly ever remember someone partying as hard as either herself or Billy, and so, it seemed to be the best action to let a real party wrecker enter the scene. Sabrina argued that this basically screamed danger, but Roxie had convinced her with the argument that this was how bachelorette parties usually ended up, anyhow. She may have overruled her with other means at her disposal, but that was not up to discussion, anyhow. And either way, she hadn’t precisely invited Billy, anyway! She had just let her know about the party, given that Billy, for some reason that neither of them had figured out yet, had decided to stay in Saffron for the time being. It might have been the ongoing quarrel with her boyfriend Danny, who hadn’t made up his mind if he wanted to break up with her or not, that forced her to stay in town. 

However the circumstances, Billy had gotten the hint and was now here. And by the looks of it, she had pregamed pretty hard. Billy, in all the circumstances Roxie had ever seen her drunk, had mastered the skill of being obviously sauced, yet having no slur in her speech. In fact, sometimes, she sounded more eloquent when drunk. Or maybe she just talked more and made up the words as she went along, who knew for certain? 

Either way, it gave Roxie an idea. It was one of these ideas that could either end up being hilarious, or backfire on her horrendously. Being who she was, she took the risks, of course. 

“Hey Bill, old cunt!” She snickered, spilling the last bits of champagne onto the floor beneath her. Good thing that the bar owner had known the risks before, and was foolish enough to sign a blank check. 

Billy turned around, eyeing Roxie up and down, as if to determine if she was worth it staying focused. “What, bitch?” 

“Think you can make a toast? Not the bread kind, you know, the speech kind!” 

Billy snorted, but at what, that was not sure. Either she deemed Roxie’s assertion as another sign of her dumbness, or she was actually offended at the idea of speaking to the whole audience. 

The latter, then, did not seem to be the cause, as Billy politely coughed- or tried to, it sounded more as if she was trying to imitate a steam engine, and then drew the attention to herself by waving her arms around and hollering in a strangely clear voice. 

“Hey, folks, I’ve got something to say! Gather and marvel, you motherfuckers!” She, then, literally took the stage, as the bar they had chosen for this event occasionally also hosted small band concerts. 

Evidently, she had been loud enough that even the people lurking upstairs came to watch what the uproar was about. 

Deeming her audience to be full enough, Billy nodded to herself before grabbing a random glass from the side table and swallowing its content in one swift motion. 

“This gal here…” She started, waving her left hand. “…is getting married. This gal also happens to be one of my longest, best friends from forever.” She paused, sparing a wide smile in Roxie’s direction. “We had a lot of blowouts over the years, that’s for sure. I cannot even say if we’re friends right now or if we’re arch-enemies, but, never mind these pesky details!” Billy took a step back, and grabbed one of the smaller Piccolos, downing its content in nearly one single gulp. Somehow, she kept herself from burping right afterwards, even if it looked as if her cheeks were blown up by an unseen inner force. 

“She asked me to give a toast, and here I am! Got no bread to burn, only words to enflame!” She actually hiccupped here, but Roxie found that almost cute. “So let it be heard, here are two freaks who’ve obviously found each other, and now they won’t let go! And damned will I be if I don’t wish them to have the greatest night of their life today, because once the night is over and you’re married, gals, it’s game over! No more wild runs, no more bar hopping, no more freedom! Forever! You’ve ran headfirst into this pesky little wall of responsibilities, ya know!” Billy leaned to her right side, her feet still steadily upright, as if glued to the parquet, while her upper body swung around like a well-cooked noodle. 

Roxie was not sure if Billy had chosen this theme on purpose. There was the slight chance that somehow, she had gotten to know about her mess-up from over a decade ago, the shame that was her internal phobia of aforementioned responsibilities, but it was much likelier that Billy just went with what came to mind first, regardless of the actual implication. 

“Married life is like giving up the life you had before, in order to find a totally new lifestyle, and hoping you can hold onto it for as long as you grace the earth with your presence!” Billy nodded to herself, before throwing the now empty champagne bottle behind her. There were quite a few party guests Roxie wouldn’t have minded being hit with the bottle, but Billy demonstrated marksmanship by hitting the garbage can even without focusing on it. “If that works out, congrats! You’ve just mastered one of the biggest challenges of life.” She took another bottle, plopped it open, and took a short sip, this time not wasting the whole bottle with one gulp. 

“If not…may Arceus have mercy on you.” Billy smirked like a burglar after entering the national treasure bank. “So let’s drink to the high hopes that we all have of this marriage!” She raised her bottle, not her glass, actually, but that was a minor detail that was swiftly ignored. She turned around, actually raising her drink to Roxie, or so it seemed. The rocker could not have noticed, with the way she was surrounded by people, that Billy was glancing in the direction of Sabrina, who reluctantly stood behind the bar, attempting to hid, or at least blend in with her surroundings, sipping a drink of her own. 

Scene Change

“Gosh, you’ve seen that cougar face! It was nice and all at first, but I think she’s as good as stalking me now…” Roxie had chosen to sit with Ash again, who tried his best to fake concentration in this conversation. He had not failed to notice the increasing interest Cynthia had shown in the host, and, to some extent, in the host’s fiancée, but whenever he thought more deeply about it, he felt his hips sweating and an uncomfortable tightness reach his thighs that forced him to quit any trail of thought and occupy himself with the sparkling wine. Given how many brave dessert wine warriors had been killed in combat so far, and how many more lurked in the cellar of the bar, he was pretty sure that the blur across his face did not origin from a particularly humid atmosphere, at least not in the literal sense. 

He grunted. “Don’t they say that blonds should not wear yellow unless they want to look like overgrown bananas?” Cynthia even seemed to emphasize that allusion, as her coat collar was of a dark brown, almost black color. 

Ash nearly pursed his lips, thinking about a certain carrot-head and if he had ever seen her wearing something strikingly fire-red. And if she had rather represented a tomato or an apple then. 

Roxie snorted loudly, her laughter enhanced by the drinks she had already consumed. “A walking banana, wouldn’t mind ripping that peel off her.” She chuckled, but her threat was emptier than her glass, as she was not keen on actions that might mess the night up. No matter how often she and Sabrina had fantasized about how the champion might actually acquit herself in bed. 

Ash’s eyes darkened. “I wouldn’t, either.” He said, though he meant it in a way also diagonal to Roxie’s. “Look how she’s all that center of attention. Even Karen was all over her and complementing her on her looks. Liars, the bunch they are.” 

Roxie nodded solemnly, knowing all too well that Ash was likely talking about the league itself. The fact that Cynthia got her mouth honeyed no matter how ridiculous she looked and behaved was only small testimonial to a problem of a much bigger scale, but that was a topic not for the now and here. “Even you look more like a real bitch, Ash.” She wondered if she could slip her phone beneath the table and take a few pics without him noticing. He was drunk, as was everybody within range, but he did not seem to be drunk enough to be that unobservant. 

Then again, the alcohol had bolstered his will in a different way than she expected, either way. 

“You know what, I’m getting up and I’m going to tell her that she got dressed by a color-blind, you know!” Ash stood up, forgetting momentarily that his own outfit wasn’t far away from behind eye cancer material, either. 

Roxie snickered. “You tell her, mate!” And she watched, all the while continuing to snicker to herself and wondering how her life could have ever gone so well, as Ash picked up a fashion fight with the Sinnoh champion and told her that she might have as well arrived naked instead of that dress that was obviously made out of yellow mica and dental gold, and how the only improvement he could think of was to swap clothes, which, unfortunately, did not happen as Cynthia fled the scene before she could get unpeeled. 

Scene Change

Still hiding behind the bar, Sabrina was watching the unfolding scenes with mediocre interest. Ash and Cynthia were brawling about complimentary colors near the entrance of the bar. Billy was conversing surprisingly civilly with the bartender and occasionally cracking a joke. The strange man named Holly that Roxie continued to not invite who still managed to crash every party they hosted was reclining upstairs, seemingly interested in the arcade games that were situated there. Anabel, the youngest and arguably most uncomfortable about the situation had excused herself to the restrooms. That left Karen, who snuck into the bar area behind her, quite intent on raiding the shelves. That was, if anything was left after the sweeping blow with which Billy and the bartender had mobilized the last resources. Sabrina had wordlessly accepted the wine she had been given, preferring it over the overly sugary drinks that the rocker prepared with astonishingly skill. It seemed to be a given where Roxie had gotten her experience from. But then again, it could as well be said that it was Billy who became a professional by watching Roxie. With these two, who was to say who had started, and who had just been the copy-cat? 

“You look gloomy…” Karen observed, sneaking a medium-sized bottle of whisky underneath her armpit. By now, it seemed superficial to cover her haul with anything but the barest of skin, given that no one seemed to care. 

Sabrina didn’t acknowledge her, though she did glance in Karen’s direction. 

“This is supposed to be your night, so why so unhappy?” The dark trainer spun around, and sat down on the bar stool to her left, fishing the whisky out of the strap of her dress and, finding no schnapps glass small enough in time, just took the next best thing, which happened to be a long drink glass. 

“This is simply not the kind of event I am going to feel happy about.” She paused, turning to Karen. “I could think of many other activities I would feel more enthralled about, but given that Roxie enjoys this very much, I do not want to disturb her fun and thus, I feel obligated to stay away from the actual action.” It was the long-winded version of: I am only doing this for her. 

The answer disappointed her greatly, so Karen clicked her tongue and caught Billy’s attention. “Got anything to cheer Miss Grumpymeowth here up?” The dark elite said, winking. 

Billy paused for a moment and looked over her shoulder, having been in the process of pouring herself a blue wodka, only that she didn’t intended on using the pastilles the recipe envisaged her to. “Of course I have!” She sneered, not even taking her eyes on what she was actually mixing. “I happen to have something in storage that’s called deathkiss of the beemonster…I think that’s fitting. Sure, it’s unusual, it’s with Tabasco, but whatever works, eh?” 

Sabrina had wanted to decline. She really wanted to. Just as much as she wanted to berate Billy for making fun of her boyfriend’s misery, until she reluctantly remembered that she was pretty much at fault for his newfound phobia. And so she shrugged and let Billy do her works, quite intend on at least enjoying the night this way, even if it meant going against some of her principles. 

Scene Change

She might have realized that everyone was satisfactorily drunk when Karen started stripping. Still, as unexpectedly pleasant as it was, it was also unnecessary as Roxie had looked ahead and booked a stripper before. Given the city they were at, and her acquaintances, it had been a pretty obvious choice. Of course, Roxie had expected Duplica to accept the appointment with reluctance, but in her business, there was nothing that couldn’t be regulated with some money. Plus, the same old story about them being friends had helped as well. Even if Duplica, the old denier that she was, claimed not to be any more than her business partner for the night. 

It was definitely not an investment made in vain, as everyone that was even remotely attracted to women- and some that Roxie had not expected to be before, cheered for the scantily clad madame who herself did the honors. 

Military style might not have been Roxie’s taste in general, but it made for good enough eye candy, either way. 

“My girls are that good, aren’t they?” 

For a moment, the ex-rocker almost choked on her drink when she heard Duplica’s voice coming from right behind her. 

“What the hell, bitch? Where did you come from?” 

Duplica just smirked at her. “Business secret. A passionate impersonator never gives away his tricks.” 

Roxie grinned and rose her glass to her. Hell, she hadn’t even noticed Duplica entering, and this place only had one entrance that she knew of. 

Duplica only continued to smile that sour little smile of hers that should have told Roxie that she was only in here for the money, and nothing else, but that peeled off the rocker as easily as laws continued to. 

“Nice parade of guests you’ve gathered here…” Duplica noted dryly, having become aware of the fact that not only was her old friend Ash again involved in a mischievous plan of Roxie’s, but that the strange chubby weirdo that Roxie had dragged to her establishment years ago was also present, complaining to the dark haired bartender about the weakness of his drinks, only earning hollering laughter in return. In her business, it was good to remember faces, and some were so unique that she would have a hard time forgetting them, anyways. 

Roxie grinned. “Bloody right, the weird bunch they are!” There were certainly a few more visages she wouldn’t have minded seeing here, but Sabrina had refused to call the whole league on grounds that she did not want to lose face, and neither did most of her female colleagues. The fact that Karen had attended either way was telling. 

Duplica cast a glance across the room. “And as with every good family, you have to have one black sheep that just won’t enjoy itself, no matter the opportunities presented with.” She gesticulated towards Anabel, who positively seemed to die in front of the strippers. The poor girl pressed herself against the room-divider, hoping to blend in with the speckled walls and doing her best not to catch any attention. 

Roxie bit her tongue, pausing. Anabel had indeed been invited on the account of being the outcast of the league, and it seemed unfair that she was obviously the only one not having fun. Feeling momentarily guilty about inviting someone who was so uncomfortable around masses of people, drunk people on top of that, Roxie excused herself and edged her way towards Anabel. This did not seem to calm the young empath down in any way, as she kept her eyes straight ahead at the stage, unfocused. 

“Not your kind of party, eh?” Roxie began, stating mostly the obvious. Anabel would have rolled her eyes if she wasn’t sure if she would stay upright afterwards. She had the feeling one could get alcohol poisoning in this room just by inhaling the biting odor for more than ten minutes. 

Roxie sighed. “Look, if it’s too much for ya, there’re quieter places upstairs. Pool table, and some other stuff.” Roxie herself hadn’t particularly checked out the upstairs, finding everything of importance- that was, the bar and the stage, to be on ground floor. But she had heard from Sabrina, who surprisingly had a minor interest in billiard, about the reclining area and its opportunities. It might not be perfect for someone as restrained as Anabel, but it was at least better than the constant hustle that was impossible to avoid downstairs. 

Anabel gave the faintest of a nod before detaching herself from the wall and braving the main area of the bar for the first and the last time, to get across the room to the stairs, and flee upstairs from there. Roxie watched her to make sure that the girl didn’t get molested or a drink forced on her on her flight, and when she had successfully disappeared from sight, Roxie nodded to herself at another job today done well. She was just one of the greatest of all hosts, wasn’t she? 

Which should have made her wonder about the other host, but being Roxie and _knowing her fiancée_ , she figured that Sabrina was well enough on her own. 

Scene Change

And in a way, she certainly was. She knew how to occupy herself, even if it meant creating even more positively awkward situations. 

Roxie might have mentioned the fact that she had politely requested of Ash to attend in a dress-, or, alternatively, had dragged his sorry ass half across Saffron to a shabby fashion shop at gun point, threatening to sick the psychic on him if he didn’t obey. In fact, a small part of her might have even enjoyed the vision of league prodigy Ketchum strolling and frolicking around in a dress and high-heels, so her inward surprise at Ash actually going through with the ordeal could hardly be excused. She had been in the process of spraying Karen with champagne- or at least trying to, while at the same time forgetting that a Methuselah weighted at least six kilos and therefore, almost knocking poor, half-naked Karen out with the bottle, when she noticed Ash approaching the bar. The boy looked positively bolstered by the fact that he had been able to drive Cynthia out of the room, and used his newfound self assurance to venturing into one area he had, originally, sworn to not even look at ever again, especially not when the ex-rocker who had gotten him into massive trouble first was near. And yet, here he was, swinging himself onto the bar stool and ordering the only drink name he could remember from that night, decades ago. Cerulean Sunset. Momentarily wondering why it was this name that had managed to occupy a corner of his mind, and likewise momentarily forgetting the very obvious reason. 

He- and everyone else, honestly, should have been alerted when the bartender- who actually was no bartender, but one of the guests, sneered at his wish and added, under her breath, how she was going to spice such a wimpy drink up. But Ash’s ears had the tendency to miss the important parts of a sentence whenever his ego was in charge. 

His eyes also tended to ignore the obvious, as was the case when Sabrina snuck out from behind the bar, where Karen was hijacking every bottle and can that was within reach, and sat down next to the trainer. 

Ash also did not react to her initial giggling at seeing his dress, but that couldn’t be ascribed to blissful unawareness anymore, as his muscles tensed at the presence of the woman who had once managed to make his life nearly hell. And that, he mused with the slightest bit of negatively tinted reminiscence, at least twice. 

“Roxie did well on you, I must say.” 

Ash rolled his eyes. Give that her intended aim had been to dress him up in the most clownesque way possible, it wasn’t entirely hard to met the prerequisites. The only way she could have failed would have been to dress him up in bright yellow and glue fake metal all over the fabric. And even then, he guessed, in a contest between him and Cynthia, the winner was obvious. 

“She expects me to wear this to the wedding as well.” Ash looked down at his dress, and then at the drink in front of him. So far, he had managed to keep the clothing stain-free, an unfortunate occurrence that meant, if he wasn’t lucky and any other guest tripped, he had no real excuse _not_ to wear the dress to the wedding. 

Sabrina gave off something that could, with good intention, actually be called a sneer. It was so close to a real emotion that Ash was momentarily taken aback, before his brain was overtaken by sugary alcoholic liquids and ceased to function for the rest of the evening. 

“I wouldn’t mind that…” She actually said, turning slightly around on her stool to look after another male guest who quietly excused himself whenever he bumped into the various drunkards trying to stay upward. Ash squinted. He was sure he had seen that purple-head somewhere before, but his mind was blank whenever he tried to pinpoint a name to this individual. 

Sabrina had fallen quiet, silently sipping the drink the bartender had wordlessly provided her with, before standing up. “Excuse me…” She said silently, all humor and giddiness that might ever have been hinted at in her voice slipping from it instantly. 

Ash shrugged, turning to the bartender after finding that his glass was, strangely, already empty despite having him no memory of ever consuming it. “Another one, please.” He called, as he had no idea of the bartender’s name. The woman nodded, before frowning and shaking an empty bottle she had been holding onto the whole time. She gave it another contemplative strike before starting to guffaw. “So that’s where all my fun boys left for the night, eh?” 

Ash didn’t get a meaning out of every single word of her sentence, but he was certain it did and should not concern him, either way. 

Scene Change

There were the rare occasions where Roxie displayed a foresight at least equal to Sabrina’s. And that was the case when she had said that bachelorette parties usually ended in chaos and trouble, no matter how prepared and calm one approached the idea. And given that she hadn’t given a shit about precautions, the end result was nothing out of the ordinary. And usually, this was right to her taste. 

But there was a certain point where she wasn’t sure if the events taking place were even all that usual anymore, and not straight up fucked as hell. Drunk people actually acting like drunk people, this was nothing new for her, even if she herself had the god-like fortune of only ever becoming more rational the more she had stocked up. Obviously, this did not apply to everybody, and so she found herself having to fight off an overly clingy Holiday, who was so wasted he forgot his actual sexual orientation, and more annoyingly, hers as well. 

Not to mention that there was absolutely no way or reincarnation in hell or heaven of him that she would find attractive in the slightest. 

“Aw, come one, I know you want it, too! I can see it in your eyes!” He tried. 

“Better get glasses then, Holly!” She sneered, jostling him as far away from herself as she could. He continued to be persistent, though, and she had to flee upstairs to avoid his unwanted, and, frankly, disgusting attempts to smooch her. 

She was looking for some rare peace of mind there, hoping, maybe, to play a game of pool billiard with Anabel, who Roxie had not seen ever since their last chit-chat. 

What Roxie found, instead, was easily the farthest from peace of mind, and the reason she stormed down the stairs and out of the bar seconds later, ignoring her duties as the party host in favor of expressing an emotion usually unknown to her. Jealousy. 

Scene Change

“…doubt you could ever checkmate me, but…we would have to get closer to actually find out, wouldn’t we?” 

“Um…if I were you, I would stop. Right now.” 

“…why?” 

“You know why.” 

“…she’s right behind me, isn’t she?” 

“Well, she was, but she just ran down the stairs.”


End file.
